Our Guest: Patricia Hefti
Patricia Hefti, a retired homeschooling parent, holds a bachelor of science in microbiology, a master of education, and an elementary education teaching certificate, all from Texas A&M University. Her greatest joy, however, is knowing her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She taught elementary grades at a local church school and worked in research labs in the TAMU Biology Department and the TAMU Medical School. For about twenty years, Patricia had the honor of serving as children’s pastor at local churches. She has two grown daughters, a super son-in-law, and a princess of a granddaughter. Patricia lives on a ranch in Bryan, Texas, with her strong, hard-working husband, Roy.
Key Thoughts and Scriptures:
Psalm 42:5,11 NIV Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
“Worship will get you through the roughest times in your life because it shifts your focus from the problem to the problem solver.”
- “I want to be saved.” God took that child’s heartfelt cry and He did it.
- “Patricia, if you’re ever confused, if you ever don’t know how to pray about something, just ask Jesus to fill you with the Holy Spirit and He will.”
- You need a church that teaches the Word of God, the truth.
- The main thing is being obedient to go to the church God chose for me, not me choosing a church, but I was really praying, God, show me where you want me.
- “Lord, if I never get married, it’s okay. I’m good with you. You are enough for me.”
- When you get serious with God, He gets serious with you and He’ll answer you in the way you need it so that you know it’s Him.
God heals Patricia from depression.
- Patricia struggled with depression even after she put her faith in Jesus and began growing in the Lord.
- Healing was a process of obeying God in what He told her to do.
- If you struggle with depression, suicidal thoughts,or anxiety, pray to the Lord asking for a strategy.
- “I’m not to be lord of my life. He is to be the Lord of my life.”
Psalm 16:11 NKJV You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
- The Lord showed Patricia, “24 hours a day, seven days a week. It doesn’t matter how you feel, I am worthy of your praise.”
- As you lift Jesus up, He lifts you up to where He is.
John 12:32 NIV And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
Psalm 22:3 NKJV But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.
- Patricia learned that as she would praise, she would get back out of that pit.
- Lying thoughts come to everybody at different times. But we have to know to take those thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5 NKJV …bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
- The enemy always attacks our identity. He always attacks who we are.
- “And when I finally found out who I was in Christ, I thought, no, I don’t have to be that. I am a child of God.”
Ephesians 2:10 NKJV For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
- So we can walk in freedom and in fullness.
Why are we surprised when God answers with good things?
- If you’re contemplating homeschooling, pray and ask God if this is right for you, because it’s not right for every family.
- “Light has come to that (former abortion) facility now instead of darkness and it’s a beautiful thing.”
- There are people that have had abortions that are broken, they’re repentant, but they don’t know how to receive forgiveness from Christ.
- There is forgiveness for that, just like there is for anything else.
- We need to stand for life and let people know that He is a God of life.
Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Deuteronomy 30:19 NKJV I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live
- “The love God put in our hearts for those people that were yelling at us was so much love all we could do was just smile and pray for them. We just prayed because we knew they were hurting in some way.
- God’’s so good to show us exactly what He wants from us.
- And if we will just be obedient, for He knows the future, we don’t.
- But I really felt like the Lord wanted me to know how to stand in that kind of an environment in the peace of God, in the presence of God, and just stand and pray for someone that hates me so much.
God had another little surprise assignment for Patricia.
- “Miss Patricia, could you please help this bird?” But with the rescue of that little bird, he was restored to health and he finally flew away. And so that story of that bird, I was sharing it with my cousin who likes to write and she said, “Patricia, you need to write a children’s book.”
- We see people come in the church one way and leave another way. It’s beautiful.
- It’s a very messy thing to rescue, to restore, and to release. You get into people’s lives and there’s a lot of ins and outs of it.
- Sin takes you farther than you want to go and costs you more than you want to pay.
- But Jesus gives us life in that more abundantly.
John 10:10-11 NKJV The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
- So it’s a fun way that God works, He works in mysterious ways, but when you look back at what He’s done, it’s amazing, isn’t it?
The main thing is obedience. Obedience to the Holy Spirit, obedience to the Word of God, to His prompting in your heart.
- And to know that when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are His sheep.
John 10:27 NKJV My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
- So as I follow the Lord, it’s all been exciting. It hasn’t been easy a lot of times, but He didn’t say it was going to be easy. However, It was going to be fulfilling and it was going to bring Him glory.
Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
- And I don’t know how many times I’ve said, Father, there’s a lot I don’t know, but I’m calling on you and I’m asking you to answer. And he does answer every time.
Mary’s Story
- When Mary is given the news that she was going to carry the Son of God, she doesn’t balk. Instead she asked a clarifying question.
- After the angel had given her clarification, she said ““May your word to me be fulfilled.”
- The word “no” and the word “Lord” do not belong in the same sentence. If He’s our Lord, we say “yes.”
- Saying yes is very powerful.
Galatians 5:13 NLT For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
Psalm 23:3 NKJV He restores my soul….
Acts 10:34 KJV …God is no respecter of persons
Psalm 90:17 NIV May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.
Patricia’s Book:
- Jay’s Tale by Patricia Hefti
Links:
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